Sen Mark R. Warner knows about diversifying his portfolio, and the business savvy lawmaker is glad to see Virginia diversifying its energy investments with a dose of offshore drilling.
Warner warns that today's announcement by President Barack Obama is going to be met with the cheers from the Drill here, Drill Now crowd that includes Gov. Bob McDonnell, Sarah Palin, George Allen and a list of other folks from the GOP. But the approach is not a cure-all for energy production problems that keep the United States tied to squabbles in the Middle East.
Warner said the next major hurdle is deciding how to properly divvy up the money that comes from the exploration to make sure that Virginia and Washington get a fair deal.
Here's what Warner had to say:
"This is good news and a positive step forward as we work to expand our nation's domestic energy production. Moving forward on the mid-Atlantic off-shore proposal will provide an opportunity to determine the scope of our region's off-shore energy resources, the economic viability of accessing those resources, and the potential impacts on our environmental and national security priorities.
"The next important step is for Congress to approve a formula for sharing revenues between the federal and state government. I am continuing to work with my colleagues to come up with a proposal that is fair and equitable, and which could attract significant new investment and create good jobs in Virginia.
"This is not a 'silver bullet' solution to our nation's chronic energy challenges. But I have long advocated an 'all-of-the-above' approach that incorporates increased R&D into bio-fuels and other renewables, development of our nation's off-shore oil, gas and wind resources, the expanded use of clean coal technology and nuclear energy, and increased conservation measures. This 'portfolio' approach will significantly boost our nation's capacity for domestic energy production while strengthening our national security by reducing our over-reliance on imported oil."
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